- For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won’t refreeze.
- To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.
- Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort
- Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on – no I haven’t done this!.
- Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.
- Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
- When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness
- Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
- Don’t throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice= cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces. Left over wine? What’s that? 🙂
- To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.
Don’t laugh I only knew about number 7.
- How many did you know about?
- Do you know of other solutions for any of these problems?
- Any other "did you know" things that you would like to share?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Rachel Campbell says:
Too funny! #7 was the only one I knew too!
#2, 3, 5 and especially 10 will DEFINITELY come in handy!
All I really knew was that Apple Cider Vinegar is supposed to be a cure for everything…
oh, and baking soda on a bee sting makes it stop hurting
Jami Pulley says:
I knew 4 of the 10…but love pieces of info like this. I love baking soda. It’s great for laundry, diaper rash and carpet. If you put golf balls in your dryer your clothes will dry better and have less wrinkles. The sun will take out almost any smell or stain. Wash the dirty spot with soap and water, put the piece of clothing outside on grass in the sun for a few hours (maybe a full day depending on the stain or smell). Something horrible spilled in my diaper bag and I tried everything to get out the stain and smell. I was going to throw it away but as a last ditch effort tried the sun trick. After several hours in the sun my bag smelled fresh and the stain was completely gone. This was after washing the bag in the washer 3 times with baking soda, Oxy and a little bleach. Happy Friday:)
Christing Cook says:
Merrill, you’re good. I only knew three. I have one:
For those rust stains that you get on your closes that won’t even come out with bleach. This works on colors as well.
You take a little lime juice and rub some cream of tarter on it. Put it in the sun to bake for a couple hours.
Rust stain gone!
Crazy but it works. I have done it a dozen times and worked every time.
Ed Sugar says:
Here is one I found out about from a neighbor. Chewing gum can be nearly impossible to remove once it has gotten stuck to your carpet. It may seem counterintuitive to use another messy substance to clean gum up, but if you work peanut butter into your gummy mess, it will take the “sticky” out of your gum and make it easy to wipe up. Then you can make your own carpet cleaner to wipe up the remaining peanut butter.
This is not a cleaning tip, but if you have an open bottle of champagne you can preserve the carbonation in a partially-consumed bottle hanging a silver spoon upside down in the neck, with the handle suspended in the contents. This was demonstrated to us by friends, as the next evening, sure enough there were plenty of bubbles in our bottle which had been opened for more than 24 hours.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Ed,
I will def try the peanut butter tip! Interesting about the spoon trick – who knows I may try that one as well!
Thanks.
Merrill
Rick Johnson says:
Wow…I am only familiar with one, #4. However, my wife was up on over half! Way to go Tammy!!!! 🙂
Bob Graham says:
http://consumerist.com/2010/03/make-your-disposable-razor-blade-last-for-20-months.html
Karen Landherr-Sciortino says:
I love all these tips- Thanks Merrill!
Karen Dawson says:
Where were you with # 1 when we lived in Boston all those years.
I kept pouring rock salt all over my stairs. I did know most of them, forgot about the celery though. I’ve found a splash of white vinegar in my fresh flowers to keep them fresh, works great in this very warm climate. Rubbin your skin with fabric softener sheets keeps away the mosquitoes too.
Jeffrey Lorber says:
Here’s a trick I learned in college – spilled wine on that new carpet? Just sop up what you can with a sponge and then pour a mountain of salt on the stain. In a couple of hours the salt will have drawn up all the wine- just vacuum and voila!